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From: rdippold@cancun.qualcomm.com (Ron Dippold)
Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.misc
Subject: Re: vi on ms-dos
Message-ID: <1991Jun20.023435.13631@qualcomm.com>
Date: 20 Jun 91 02:34:35 GMT
References: <1991Jun7.172233.7978@welch.jhu.edu> <426@galileo.rtn.ca.boeing.com> <1991Jun16.082652.21466@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca>
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In article <1991Jun16.082652.21466@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca> mroussel@alchemy.chem.utoronto.ca (Marc Roussel) writes:
>In article <426@galileo.rtn.ca.boeing.com> rfh3273@galileo.rtn.ca.boeing.com
>(Dick Harrigill) writes:
>>Can you show me *ANYTHING* in vi that a typial vi novice could figure out 
>>the keystroke sequence for him/herself without referring to a manual?
>
>No, but then is this true of any editor?

QEDIT. FullWrite II.  Any GUI editor.  Brief.  ProTerm. 1Word.  Microsoft
Word.  Sprint.  SideKick.  EDT.

All you have to know is "ESC" or "F1" or "Alt-h", the three keys I always
go for when I don't know a new program.  Some of them give you help, some
of them will pop up a set of menus that you can also use, and always include
a list of keys.  Some of those are word processors, some are true programmers
editors, some are both.

The most heinous thing about vi as far as a novice is concerned is the two
modes.  You edit a file, you see a cursor, and you can't type without
mangling your file with command sequences.  Then once you manage to find
out that "I" or "R" or "A" lets you start typing (but not "i"!) you reach
for the arrow keys to move around and end up sticking hundreds of lines
of A A A B B C D E in your file.  With all the rules and modes, there's no
way a beginner is going to learn vi unless he has a manual, someone who
knows it, or has a lot of time to waste.  The worst thing is that you can't
just ignore most of this crap.  In most editors even if you've never seen them
before you can make minor changes to a file with the arrow keys, delete key,
and (the "hard" part) saving and exiting.  Not with vi.
-- 
Standard disclaimer applies, you legalistic hacks.     |     Ron Dippold